What Being American Means to Today's Youth

What Being American Means to Today's Youth

by George H. Gallup Jr.

What does it mean to be an American? In a recent Gallup Youth
Survey*, Gallup posed this question to U.S. teens (aged 13 to 17).
Asked on an open-ended basis, the question allowed respondents to
offer whatever answer came to mind. While some people might expect
disinterested replies, teens' responses reveal a deep and sincere
appreciation of the implications of their status as Americans.

Teens frequently mentioned freedom, or some aspect of it, in
their responses. One 17-year-old boy said being an American means
having "freedom to choose what school I want to attend, what church
I want to go to, study what I am interested in, travel freely
throughout this country without any restrictions, listen to any
radio or TV stations that I want to, and achieve my career and
educational goals ... without any influence from any government or
military group." A 15-year-old boy said, "Being an American means
being proud of my country and defending our right to free speech
and the freedom to be who we are." He ended his comments
dramatically: "I will defend my right to be free to the death."

Teens Don't Have to Agree With the Government

The war in Iraq has raised many questions about the meaning of
patriotism. However, some teens stressed that being American does
not mean one has to agree with all the government's actions. A
16-year-old girl said, "Being an American is just caring about the
good of America. It doesn't mean agreeing with everything the
government does, but at the same time you have to agree with the
most core values … freedom to life, liberty, pursuit of
happiness, speech, etc." A 17-year-old boy said, "It means having
citizenship in the United States. It doesn't matter if you burn
flags or join the armed forces, if you have citizenship you are
American."

Many Note Freedoms and Welcome Diversity

The United States, by virtue of its founding principles, is a
nation of diverse religions, cultures, races, and ethnicities. A
16-year-old girl said that being an American means being "able to
have our own ideas and beliefs, and being able to express [them],
along with the freedom of being an individual who is different from
everyone." A 14-year-old girl gave this response: "I think to be an
American means accepting others, treating everyone equally, being
open to new ideas and thoughts, understanding and appreciating your
freedom, and not taking what your ancestors did for granted."

Criticism and Apathy

A few teens gave apathetic answers, and some were notably
critical. But such downbeat responses were rare. "To be an American
is to be blind to [the] world's problems, and to consume its
resources," said one 16-year-old boy. A 16-year-old girl commented,
"I am grateful to be in a country with so many freedoms. I just
don't like how high-headed America is and how we may be a little
more headstrong than we can handle."

An Open Door to the Future

A common theme in the replies is that being an American and
having freedom opens the door to great opportunities. One
13-year-old boy said it means "having the freedom to make choices
in my life -- I can be as successful or unsuccessful as I want to
be." A 14-year-old girl said to be an American is "to have freedom.
To be able to dream and try to be anything you want … My
parents taught me to always do my best and to always have hope,
even if you get knocked down over and over. In America, you have
the right to always get up!"

Bottom Line

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly in these uncertain times, teens
tend to show deep appreciation of what it means to be American.
While writing about freedoms, they also note citizens' obligations.
Negative and cynical voices are rarely heard. One 17-year-old girl
reflected: "…we are a group of people who have dreams and
live in a place where we have the chance to fulfill them." Another
16-year-old simply said it means "being part of a nation that tries
to be good."

*The Gallup Youth Survey is conducted via an Internet
methodology provided by Knowledge Networks, using an online
research panel that is designed to be representative of the entire
U.S. population. The current questionnaire was completed by 517
respondents, aged 13 to 17, between Aug. 1 and Aug. 29, 2003. For
results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence
that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±5 percentage
points.

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